Lubricating oil composition containing fluorinated dithiophosphates



halogens such as chlorine.

Patented Nov. 8, 1960 LUBRICATING OIL CGMPOSITION CONTAINING FLUORINATED DITHIOPHOSPHATES John 0. Smith, Jr., Swampscott, Mass, and John V. Clarke, Jr., Cranford, NJ., assignors to Esso Research and Engineering Company, a corporation of Delaware No Drawing. Filed Feb. 24, 1959, Ser. No. 794,815

9 Claims. (Cl. 25232.7)

This invention relates to lubricating compositions and additives therefor. Particularly, the invention relates to a lubricant additive imparting improved anti-wear properties formed by fluorination of organic substituted dithiophosphates, the process for producing such additives, and th'euse of such fluorinated compounds in lubricating compositions. This application is a continuation-in-part of .our prior pending applications, Serial Nos. 590,110, filed June 8, 1956, now US. Patent 2,884,431, and 746,100, filed July 2, 1958, now abandoned.

The use of organo dithiophosphates as additives is well known. These materials are commonly used in lubricating compositions, such as motor oils, because of their properties as detergents, anti-wear, anti-corrosion and antisludge forming agents. These materials are valuable for use in the crankcases of passenger automobiles and in buses, trucks, etc. in heavy duty service.

It has now been found, and forms the subject of the present invention, that the anti-wear properties of organo dithiophosphate additives may be greatly improved by the incorporation of a small amount of fluorine into the compound. Because of the greater stability of the fluorine to carbon bonds, the action of fluorine is unique and similar results would not be obtained by the use of other It has been found that these materials, when fiuorinated so as to contain about 0.01 to 1.0 wt. percent, and preferably 0.05 to 0.5 wt. percent, of chemically combined fluorine, will be materially improved in their anti-wear properties without adversely affecting their other desirable properties. The fluorinated additive materials of this invention can be used wherever the organo dithiophosphate type of compounds have normally been used.

The dithiophosphates used in the practice of this invention have the general formula:

wherein, R and R are radicals which may be the same or which may diiferand are radicals each having about 2 to 20 carbon atoms andeach is selected from the group consisting of aryl, alkyl, aralkyl, cycloalkyl, aryloxyalkyl, acylaryl and alkoxyaryl radicals; M is hydrogen or a saltforming metal; and n is the valence of M. More specifically, compound of thisclass include the dialkyl dithiophosphates such .as dibutyl dithiophosphate, dihexyl dithiophosphate, di n-octyl dithiophosphate, dicapryl dithiophosphate, dilauryl dithiophosphate, dioctadecyl dithiophosphate, etc. We prefer to use those dialkyl dithiophosphates in which the alkyl groups average from 5 to 20 carbon atoms in order to insure adequate solubility of the dithiophosphates in lubricating oils. The diaryl dithiophosphates, and particularly the diaryl dithiophosphates in which the aryl group bears an alkyl, alkoxy or'cycloaliphatic group, are also useful, such as for example, diphenyl dithiophosphate, di-(2,4-diamyl phenyl) 2 dithiophosphate, dikerylphenyl dithiophosphate (a product obtained by treating chlorinated kerosene with a phenol in the presence of aluminum chloride and then reacting with P 8 and the various di-(wax substituted aryl) dithiophosphates. Dicycloaliphatic, dithiophosf phates may also be employed, suchas those prepared by; reacting cyclopentanol, cyclohcxanol, cycloheptanol, and methyl, ethyl, propyl, and amyl substitutedcyclopentanol, cyclohexanol and cycloheptanol, etc. with P 8 The diaryl-oxyalkyl dithiophosphates such as di(2,4-diamyl phenoxyethyl) dithiophosphate, the diacylaryl dithiophosphates such as di-(lauroyl phenyl) dithiophosphate and the diallcoxyaryl dithiophosphates such as di-- (methoxyphenyl) dithiophosphate, may also be employed. The above dithiophosphate materials and their preparation are known in the art (e.g. see U.S. Patent 2,369,632).

The dialkyl dithiophosphates are preferred because they have greater load carrying ability, are better inhibitors, better detergents and are less viscous than other dithiophosphates. Especially preferred are those dialkyl dithiophosphates in which each alkyl group contains between 3 and 6 carbon atoms such that the average of allthe carbons in both groups is at least 5. These alkyl groups include isopropyl, n-propyl, isobutyl, n-butyl and tertiary butyl, n-pentyl, isopentyl, sec. pentyl, tert. pentyl, n-hexyl and 1,3-dimethyl-butyl. The two alkyl groups may be the same or may be different groups.

We also prefer to employ these various organic substituted dithiophosphates in the form of their metal salts. Among the various metal salts which may be employed are those of the salt-forming radicals such as iron, nickel,

aluminum, cadmium, tin, zinc, magnesium, calcium, strontium, barium and others. Especially preferred are the iron, barium and zinc salts because these salts have been having the formula CoF which is a mild fluorinating compound, although other mild fluorinating compounds may be used, such as silver difluoride, AgF manganic fluoride,"MnF lead tetrafluoride, PbF ceric fluoride, CeF bismuth pentafluoride, BiF thallium fluoride TlF Cobalt trifluoride is especially preferred as it is somewhat less active than others such as silver difluoride, for example, and thus gives less fluorination under equivalent conditions or temperature and pressure.

Other common fluorinating compounds such asfluorine gas, HF; antimony fluoride, SbF mercuric fluoride, HgF- are not satisfactory since their action is quiteviolent which would cause excessivefiuorination which would give rise to hydrocarbon insoluble products andwould often cause degradation of the starting material to a They would therefore not produce the same effects or the same type compound variety of undesirable products.

obtained by the method of this invention using a mild fluorinating agent.

The fluorination may be carried out in the presence of a diluent oil for the purpose of ease of handling or because of the commercial availability of dithiophosphates in a.

diluent oil, in which form they are customarily supplied.

Suitable diluent oils are any paraffinic hydrocarbons 'in which the material to be fiuorinated is'soluble and which have a boiling point above 400 F., the maximum temperature at which the fluorination is carried out.

However, the process can also be carried out without using a diluent oil by directly reacting the dithiophos- The reaction may be carried out at temperatures within the range of about 300 to 450' F., preferably about 375 to 400 F. for a period of time of about 2 to hours, and preferably about 3 to 4 hours. The reaction is carried out under an inert atmosphere, such as a nitrogen blanket in order to exclude oxygen and thereby prevent oxidative degradation. The reaction is indicated as completed by the cessation of gas evolution from the reaction mixture.

Thereaction mixture may then be diluted with an inert solvent such as hexane, heptane, benzene or toluene in order to extract the fiuorinated product from the insoluble materials such as CoF and unreacted CoF followed by filtering in order to remove any unreacted materials or impurities. The solvent is then removed by evaporation to leave the "purified product.

Although the exact nature of the chemical reaction is not understood, it is believed that the fluorine is mainly substituted for hydrogen in either or both alkyl groups. It may also to some degree replace some of the sulfur atoms in the dithiophosphate structure. The invention will be more clearly understood by reference to the following examples:

Example I Sixty grams of a mixture consisting of 55% by weight of zinc dialkyl' dithiophosphate (of which the alkyl groups are 1,3-dimethy1 butyl) and 45% by weight of a mineral diluent oil which was a solvent extracted paraffinic distillate having a V.I. of 105 and a viscosity at 100 F. of 150 S.U.S., were added to a nickel beaker Eleven grams of cobalt trifluoride, which is a powder, was then added to the beaker. Nitrogen gas was used as an atmosphere above the beaker in order to exclude air and thus prevent oxidative degradation. The mixture was heated in a sand bath to a temperature of about 380 F. at which point the reaction began as evidenced by gas evolution from the reaction mixture. The reaction mixture was then maintained at a temperature of about 380 F. for about 2 hours while stirring. At the end of this time, the reaction mixture was allowed to cool and the product was dissolved in 100 cc. of hexane and then filtered through a filter paper. The hexane was then removed by evaporation by heating the solution over a steam bath until the hexane was completely removed. The resulting product consisted of 55 wt. percent of the fiuorinated zinc dialkyl dithiophosphate and 45 wt. percent of the original diluent oil. The product appeared slightly darker in color than the original zinc dialkyl dithiophosphate solution, and on analysis was found to contain 0.12% fluorine by weight.

Example II A fiuorinated dithiophosphate of the type of Example I may be prepared directly without the use of a diluent oil. This compound would be prepared by the following procedure:

Sixty grams of the zinc di(l.3-dimethyl butyl) dithiophosphate and 6 grams of cobalt trifluoride are added to a nickel beaker. The mixture is heated in a sand bath to a temperature of about 380 F. and is maintained at this temperature under a nitrogen blanket for about 2 hours while stirring. The reaction mixture is cooled and the product is dissolved in about 100 cc. of hexane and filtered through filter paper. The hexane is removed by heating the solution over a steam bath until the hexane is completely evaporated.

The fiuorinated product may be used as an additive in amounts of 0.001 to 10.0 wt. percent (elg. 0.01 to 3.0 wt. percent), preferably 0.5 to 3.0 wt. percent, based on the weight of the total composition, in a major proportion of either mineral base'lubricating oils or various synthetic oils.

Mineral base lubricating oils ranging in viscosity from about 30 to about 1000 S.S.U. at 100 F. are preferably employed as the base oils for the compositions of the F. may also be used as part or all of the base oils.

Examples of operable synthetic lubricating oils include ether alcohols, such as those corresponding to the general formula:

wherein R is an alkyl group, n is an integer from 2 to 5, and x is an integer from 1 to 40, e.g., the monobutyl ether of tetradeca-propylene glycol, esters of monobasic carboxylic acids, totaling 20 to 80 carbon atoms, such as those of C to C aliphatic acids with C to C aliphatic alcohols, the C to C radicals including the butyl, isobutyl, hexyl, octyl, iso-octyl, 2-ethyl hexyl, nonyl, decyl, lauryl, stearyl and similar radicals; diesters of dibasic acids, such as adipic or sebacic acid with monohydric alcohols, such as hexyl, octyl, Z-ethyl hexyl or higher alcohols; esters of polyethylene glycols with C to C branched-chain carboxylic acids; complex esters of polybasic carboxylic acids, polyhydric alcohols, and monobasic acids and/or monohydric alcohols, such as the glycol-centered or dibasic acid-centered complex esters; phosphoric acid esters or thioesters of aliphatic alcohols or mercaptans of up to about 18 carbon atoms; halocarbon oils, such as the polymers of chlorofluoro alkylenes like chlorotrifiuoroethylene; organo-.

siloxanesy sulfite esters, organic carbonates; mercaptals; formals; etc.

Other additives may also be added to the composition such as viscosity index improvers, such as the polymethacrylate esters, fumarate-vinyl acetate copolymers, maleate-vinyl acetate copolymers, polyalkyl styrenes, and the like. The viscosity index improver may be used in amounts in the range of about 0.1 to 30% by weight, preferably about 0.1 to 10% by weight, and more preferably about 0.1 to 5% by weight, based on the finished lubricating oil. Mixtures. of various types of V.I. improvers may be used.

A small amount of a pour point depressant additive may also be incorporated in the finished composition to obtain improved pour-point stability and decreased pour point. Such pour point depressants include condensation products of chlorinated wax with naphthalene or phenol, various polymers and copolymers of unsaturated esters and the like. For example, a copolymer of the fumaric acid esters of coconut oils and of vinyl acetate in an 80/20 weight ratio is effective when used in con centrations of about 0.01 to 5% by weight based on the weight of the base oil.

Other suitable additives which may be incorporated in the finished composition are oxidationinhibitors such as phenothiazine, lauryl selenide, phenyl' alpha-naphthylamine; rust inhibitors such as lecithin, metal salts of petroleum or synthetic sulfonic acids, sorbitan monooleate, lauryl mercapto acetic acid; detergents suchas the barium salt of isononyl phenol sulfide and calcium petroleum or synthetic sulfonates; corrosion resisting agents such as di-Z-ethylhexylamine, and other additives.

Example III Blends were prepared which consisted of 2 wt. percent of the fiuorinated product of Example I (fiuorinated mixture of 55 wt. percent of zinc di-( 1,3-dimethyl butyl) dithiophosphate and 45 wt. percent diluent oil); and 98 wt. percent of a base oil which. was a high quality paraffinic mineral lubricating oil distillate having a viscosity index of about 100.

Blends were also prepared of the unfiuorinated addi- Tester.

. Base Oll+flurinated additive Base Oil+unflu0rinated additive...

tive which were similar to the blends described above except that the zinc di-( 1,3-dimethyl butyl) dithiophosphate was not fluorinated.

The above blends were tested in a Shell 4-Ball E.P.

This test is carried out as follows:

The test lubricant is placed in the cup of the machine at room temperature. This cup also contains three steel balls which are fixed in position by a screw cap. A fourth steel ballyheld in a chuck, is pressed against the three lower balls with a known force and is rotated at 1800 revolutions per minute. One minute tests are run at increasing load increments using a new set of balls for each load. Using this procedure, the maximum load that can be carried without metal scufling or film failure is determined.

The results of this test are shown in the following table:

TABLE I Shell 4-1331] E.P. Test (Weight Carrled in Kg.)

Material Base 011 Base OlH-fiuorinated additive The blends containing the fluorinated additive and the unfluorinated additive were subjected to the copper strip corrosion test for pertoleum products (ASTM Method D-l30). B'oth blends had little effect on copper, and gave no appreciable visible amount of discoloration of the copper strip, which is equivalent to a'I-2 rating in said ASTM test.

These blends were also subjected to an Oxidation Test which was carried out as follows:

The oil sample is heated to 340 F. in a glass tube andis exposed to oxidation by a stream of air passing through it. A copper-lead test bearing is mounted on a shaft and rotated in the oil. After given-periods, the bearing is removed, repolished, and replaced in the oil. The viscosity of the oil is determined at the end of each period. The first period lasts for 8 hours, and each subsequent period is for 4 hours, for a total of hours. The lower the viscosity increase, the better the oil.

The results of the oxidation test are given in .Table I].

TABLE II 8 hrs. 12 hrs. 16 hrs. 20 hrs.

As seen from the above tables, fluorinating the zinc dialkyl dithiophosphate greatly improved the load carrying ability of the compound without adversely affecting its other desirable properties as an additive. This result was surprising as fluorination of other materials had no eifect on their load carrying ability. For example, the diluent oil per se of Example I was fluorinated to contain about 0.1 wt. percent fluorine and had a loadcarrying ability in the Shell 4-Ba1l test of 60 kg. before fluorination and 58 kg. after fluorination. The fiuorination of other additive materials such as a methacrylate polymer of about 20,000 mol. wt.; a polybutene polymer of about proportion of a lubricating oil. and about -001 to 10.0w.

percent of a fluorinated organo dithiophosphate containing about 0.01 to 1.0 wt. percent of chemically combined fluorine wherein said organo dithiophosphatehas the general formula:

R-o s /r--s-- -M R'-- 0 wherein R and R are radicals'each'having about 2 to 20 carbon atoms and are each selected from the group consisting of aryl, alkyl, aralkyl, cycloalkyl, aryloxyalkyl, acylaryl and alkoxyaryl radicals; M is a member selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and a salt forming metal and n is the valence of M.

2. A lubricating oil composition according to claim 1, comprising about 0.01 to 3.0 wt. percent of fluorinated organo dithiophosphate containing about 0.05 to 0.5 wt. percent of chemically combined fluorine.

3. A lubricating oil composition according to claim '1,

6. A lubricating oil composition comprising a major amount of mineral lubricating oil and .001 to 10.0 wt. percent of a fluorinated organo dithiophosphate containing about 0.01 to 1.0 wt. percent of chemically combined fluorine and wherein said organo dithiophosphate which is fluorinated has the general formula:

wherein R and R are radicals each having about 2 to 1 20 carbon atoms and are each selected from the group consisting of aryl, alkyl, aralkyl, cycloalkyl, aryloxyalkyl, acylaryl and alkoxyaryl radicals; M is a member selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and a salt forming metal and n is the valence of M.

7. A lubricating oil acording to claim 6, wherein said fluorinated organo dithiophosphate is a fluorinated metal 7 References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,683,691 Thorpe et a1 July 13, 1954 2,708,204 Bell et al. May 10, 1955 2,797,238

Miller et a1 June 25, 1957 

1. A LUBRICATING OIL COMPOSITION COMPRISING A MAJOR PROPORTION OF A LUBRICATING OIL AND ABOUT .001 TO 10.0 WT. PERCENT OF A FLUORINATED ORGANO DITHIOPHOSPHATE CONTAINING ABOUT 0.01 TO 1.0 WT PERCENT OF CHEMICALLY COMBINED FLUORINE WHEREIN SAID ORGANO DITHIOPHOSPHATE HAS THE GENERAL FORMULA: 